Welcome to my plein air journal. This is where you can keep abreast of my many plein air adventures. Here is where you’ll see all things paintable from elegant weddings in Charleston to the Blues Festival in Fargo.

Dec 21, 2010

Out of the box

“Facing Finals at UNC”, 3x3" watercolor

I’m trying to find a link for Beaufort artist and good friend Jerry Stocks who tied with Donna in our little “Find the Dude” contest. Help me with this, Jerry, if you happen to be reading.

And here’s the last of the students studying at Carolina Union. Very recognizable in the crowd, with the UNC sweatshirt that gives him away.

In my past life as an advertising art director, creativity was king. No maybe not king, queen. The Idea was King. And so after trying to think out of the box for most of my life, I find myself still trying to come up with creative solutions. Here’s a valuable piece I learned from Bob Gill* when I was in graduate school, “If you want a more creative solution, make the problem more creative.” It works. Just try it. Ask yourself to name a fruit that’s red. Apple, right? Then make the problem more interesting, and ask yourself to come up with a fruit that’s red both inside and out. Name the fruit. I’ll post your response (or mine) on my next blog post.

Please note that I’ve left my last several students studying unsigned. This is because I don’t know where they’ll end up — the trash, in a mat singularly or in a dual-window mat where I only want one signature to show. Below is a series of quick-sketch watercolors I painted in Raleigh at Jerry’s Artarama for a fundraiser to benefit the National Wildlife Federation. Who says mat windows need to be cut perpendicular?

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About Me

After growing up all over the globe, our family took root in North Carolina. Every place before this was never more than three and a half years. I began coloring in England, I began pastels in California, in the Philippines, my dad enrolled me in private oil painting lessons. In North Carolina, I picked up a pencil and never put it down. This led to a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MFA from Syracuse University, a 30+ year career in Minneapolis as an art director and graphic designer. Then it stopped. My mom in North Carolina got sick, and I got Carolina on my mind. In 2003 I moved in with her. God rest her soul, she made me crazy, so I started to paint. Now I have a career as a fine artist. It’s up to friends, patrons, and people like you to keep it that way. Be happy. Buy art made in the USA, preferably from me.